Trailers, Hitches, & Maintenance

Trailer Maintenance Tip: Fastener Facts & Why We Love Shackle Bolts

They may be small, but you shouldn’t ignore them: the right fasteners are important to your trailer’s operation, longevity, and can affect the safety of your load.

Small But Mighty Important: Trailer Fasteners

We’ve written before about how small, inexpensive things (like bushings) can end up causing a lot of aggravation and costing a lot of money. Fasteners are the same. We have hundreds of different nuts and bolts – including U bolts – couplers and other fasteners in stock, and regularly place special orders for specific trailer parts, including fasteners, to keep our customers’ trailers on the road and operating safely.

We try to provide as much customer education as we can, but sometimes, when we suggest a particular bolt that’s $1 or $2 more than another, we see a raised eyebrow and that “oh sure it’s the more expensive one” look.

Trust us, we won’t be retiring anytime soon by selling that $3 bolt. When we recommend a fastener that’s an extra buck or two, it’s well worth it.

Here’s why: basic nuts and bolts don’t lock down tight and stay locked down when used in typical over-the-road conditions. (And especially not when you’re pushing your speed or weight recommendations.)

We Recommend Shackle Bolts for Most Trailer Applications

Shackle bolts are knurled and self-locking. They stay locked in, even as your trailer bounces along the road.

Bolt Materials and Welding

We carry a variety of stainless and galvanized steel bolts and other materials. But in some cases, a weld is a better option than any fastener.

JTI’s experienced welders are here on premises 6 days a week. Between our hauling, mechanical, and welding experience, we can recommend the best options for your trailer.

Have questions for the trailer and hitch experts? Call or stop in. We love to talk about making hauling easier and safer for our customers and for everyone on the road.

We’re not the only people who are a little bit nuts about nuts and bolts. If you know anyone in classic car restoration, you know they’re serious about fasteners too. What’s that? You know all about the nuts and bolts of classic cars? Did you know we rent and sell car haulers? We do! 440.232.4311

I liked the information you posted about using shackle bolts for utility trailers. Having something that’s self locking will come in handy to haul cargo safely on the road. I found out that some of the gear that I kept in my trailer fell out onto the road the other day because my fastener wasn’t sealed properly. Maybe using a shackle bolt on my trailer can prevent this from happening in the future. Thanks for posting this!

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About JTI

People who depend on their trailers depend on JTI.
While much has changed since Johns Trailers Inc. (JTI) was established on Buckeye Road in Cleveland in 1935, the business is still family-owned and operated.
Now located just off I-271 in Oakwood Village, JTI sells and services trailers, installs hitches, makes custom axles, and in general, does what our customers need us to do to keep rolling.
Visit our website www.JTIinc.com or call us at 440.232.4311